Promises
by Wing'dCallisto
Summary: In the last few hours on Termina, Anju wonders about Kafei, and if he'll keep the promises he made...


Promises  
  
by Wing'dCallisto  
  
Disclaimer: Zelda belongs to Nintendo, who I don't like very much (especially since they cel-shaded Windwaker... -grumbles-) However, I loved all the other Zelda games.   
  
Author's Note: Originally published under the pen-name Chibi Zelphie, and under the title of 'You Never Promised You Would'. I decided it needed a major rewrite, since I quite liked the concept. If you want to see the original, it doesn't exist anymore. Nyahh! I wrote this fic after watching the scene in which you get the mask of the Wedded Couple, and I tried to imagine what would have happened if Kafei never came.   
  
Summary: In the last few hours on Termina, Anju wonders about Kafei, and if he'll keep the promises he made...  
  
--------------------------**  
  
Anju found herself wrenched out of the dream world and back into reality, with gradually fading images from her nightmare imprinted on the inside of her mind. Her pulse was racing and her sheets were damp with sweat. She sat up straight and leant forward, wrapping her arms around herself, trying to hold her feelings inside.   
  
She'd always been prone to nightmares, the kind that made her want to SCREAM OUT LOUD... but she never did. A dutiful, submissive daughter who was treated like a maid. It wasn't something she'd wanted to be. In her childhood she'd always drempt of falling in love, of having money and children and a large house with a rolling garden... Of having people to work for her, instead of her working for them.  
  
She couldn't stop thinking about him. She missed him. He wrote her a letter, but her mother presumed it to be garbage and it was thrown out. But by that time she'd memorized it, so she knew his words off by heart.   
  
Kafei...  
  
The dreams of him were always the most emotive.   
  
She wondered what had happened to him. What would happen to him. The end of the world was coming, but would he be there for her? He'd promised, a thousand times, to be with her until eternity came to a close.   
  
Their love would bind them together.  
  
She threw back her sheets, slipping her feet into a pair of well-worn boots. She laced them up, her fingers clumsily tying and re-tying the broken shoelace. She slipped on a warm coat, slipping her hands into the pockets and savouring the warmth as it travelled up her arms. With a final glance around the room (at the people she cared so deeply about) she slipped down the stairs, her feet silent as they touched the floorboards.  
  
Once outside, she found the world cast into shadow. Above her the moon smiled it's demonic grin, red eyes aglow. There was no feeling or sympathy in those eyes-- just a real desire to destroy. Anju bowed her head, shutting her eyes tightly as she broke into a run across the ranch grounds.  
  
(don'tlookbackican'tlookback...)  
  
Milk Road was deserted, although it was to be expected. She kept her eyes downcast, trying desperately to ignore the rumblings as the moon was pulled towards the ground. She wished that she wasn't alone. To die alone...  
  
...no. He'd promised.  
  
The road opened up onto the grassed Termina Field. She allowed herself a quick glance upwards and spied the high, brilliantly painted wall that surrounded Clock Town. Her heart began to beat quickly once more.   
  
***  
  
"Anju!"   
  
Anju stopped, startled, just outside the Clock Town enterance. One of the guards (a regular visitor to the Inn) was gazing at her with concern. She smiled and waved slightly, breaking into a jog.  
  
"Why are you here?" He enquired. Underneath his helmet, his face was pale. "You should leave while you still have the chance."  
  
Anju took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm waiting for Kafei."  
  
The guard seemed to understand, and the ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Young love," he sighed. "I wish you luck, Anju."  
  
Anju bowed her head in thanks, and then went running across the Plaza.  
  
The clock struck eleven.  
  
***  
  
Anju made her way up the staircase in the inn, pushing open the door to the room she'd shared with her mother. She was tired. Tired of running, tired of hiding. But she'd thought Kafei would be there for her, and they could be together again.  
  
The room was empty, save for the pieces of mismatched furniture carelessly placed around the perimeter, and her wedding dress which sat beside the bookshelf, still holding the bouquet of flowers which had begun to wither and die.   
  
She traced her fingers along the silken material, fighting back tears. He wasn't here. She'd made the journey-- her last journey-- for no reason. It was hopeless. Her sad smile turned into a frown and she let out a scream of frustration, slamming her back to the wall and sliding to the ground. She put her head in her hands and sobbed.  
  
The door opened, and she lifted her tearstained face to see a boy of perhaps twelve or thirteen standing in the doorway. He was dressed all in green, and a small orb of light-- a faerie-- hovered around his head, illuminating his face.  
  
'Oh, it's you.' Anju recognized the boy. It was him who had delivered the letters from Kafei, who had come to her with news of his whereabouts. He gave her a tense smile.  
  
'Anju...'  
  
'Do you know where Kafei is?' Anju got to her feet, extended her hand. She sounded desperate. 'You have to... he trusted you, he would have told you...'  
  
'I don't know.' The boy said quietly, and Anju ceased to speak. She merely closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  
  
'He'll come,' she said, more to convince herself than anything else. 'I trust him. I know he'll see me one last time.'  
  
'I should probably tell you...' the boy hesitated, then shook his head, touched her hand lightly. 'Please don't get your hopes up too high.' Then he smiled at her. 'I have to go, but ... take care of yourself, Anju.'  
  
Anju looked up once more, and saw him place a delicate porcelain ocarina to his lips. He blew it a few times, then shut his eyes and played a song that he seemed to know off by heart. A blue light enveloped him, so brilliant that Anju had to look away... and when she turned back, he was gone.  
  
She went over to the window and glanced out, examining the clock. It was early. She squnited slightly; three in the morning. Above her, the moon smiled menacingly down on Termina. It's red eyes were almost close enough to cast crimson light on the world.  
  
She glared up at it defiantly.   
  
There was nothing else she could do.  
  
***  
  
Anju waited.  
  
Waited to live... waited for a miracle... waited to die. Whichever came true didn't matter. She knew he wasn't going to come. He'd always promised to be there at the end of time. He'd promised to be by her side when she departed this world for the next. But he'd lied. All his words, meaningless promises.  
  
All their memories were substanceless vapor. All their memories were evanescent, destined to be nothing. Anju was more sad than angry. She'd really thought he'd be here with her, and they could die together, together in death as they had been in life.  
  
She peered out the window once more and noticed that the dark sky was streaked with gold, a sure sign that sunrise was approaching. The last sunrise. The stars slowly faded above her, and her breath caught in her throat as she realised that they were the last stars she would ever see.  
  
Angrily, she wiped her tears away, and tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths. 'Everyone has to die sometime,' she mused in an effort to console herself. 'At least you won't be suffering for much longer... and you'll probably see Kafei again.'  
  
She knew that she didn't have much time left, so she reached for her wedding outfit and held it out at arms length before her, studying it's intricate stitching, it's beautiful, shimmering material that had never seen the sunlight. She hesitated slightly, but only for the smallest moment, before slipping out of her modest nightgown and coat and into the dress.  
  
She held the bouquet out in front of her and tilted her head to one side, as if studying herself in a mirror. Then she turned back to the stand and reached for her mask, which she slipped over her face, obscuring her true identity. No-one would ever know who she was.  
  
Through the window she could see the clock, and she knew there were only seconds left until sunrise and the inevitable armegeddon that approached. Her knees gave way and she knelt on the bed, her cheek resting on the patchwork quilt, her eyes wide open and facing the doorway. Sweat began to bead on her forehead.  
  
She could hear the clock tower ring in the new morning, and she screamed involuntarily. Her door swung open, and a young boy with purple hair came running over to her. He wore the mask of the Keaton.  
  
Kafei.  
  
Anju stretched out her hand, but it was too late. The moon crashed into the fragile planet, and a thousand million fragments of the once beautiful world were scattered all around her. She could not touch him; their fingers were mere millimetres apart...  
  
And she spoke his name as her final word; it echoed and spun and danced around the collapsed beams of the inn before it reached his ears. 


End file.
